


Shadow Dancing

by Anonymous



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, One Shot, Spectre Requisitions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-21
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "I can't believe you talked me into this," Ashley muttered under her breath.  "You do realize that nobody is going to actually believe that we're dating, right?"
Relationships: Liara T'Soni/Ashley Williams
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12
Collections: Spectre Requisitions 2021





	Shadow Dancing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CypressSunn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CypressSunn/gifts).



"I can't believe you talked me into this," Ashley muttered under her breath. "You do realize that nobody is going to actually believe that we're dating, right?"

Liara leaned in, her lips almost brushing Ashley's ear as she murmured: "They will if you stop making comments like that where people can hear you."

Ashley didn't roll her eyes in response. It took quite a bit of effort on her part, but she resisted the urge. She took a close look at Liara, taking in the way that her eyes had narrowed just a tiny bit and how she was clenching her hands ever so slightly. Then she sighed and gave the barest hint of a nod, well aware that it was probably easier in the long run not to bother arguing when there wasn't a chance in Hell that she'd come out on top.

Besides, when things inevitably went wrong, she could save saying "I told you so" until then. She could be patient when she needed to be.

Judging by the amused smirk on Liara's face, she knew exactly what Ashley was thinking just then, but she didn't say anything about it. She simply looped her arm a little bit more tightly around Ashley's and leaned in even closer, letting out a quiet laugh and putting on a show for anyone who might be paying attention to them.

Like a proper asari companion attending a high class party with the second human Spectre should.

"Are you at least going to buy me a drink?" Ashley asked, doing her best to keep her tone lighthearted and not show just how uncomfortable she was surrounded by a crowd of humans and aliens who probably made more in a minute than she did in a decade.

Liara shot her an amused look. "Shouldn't I as be asking you that?" she almost purred. "You're the one who invited me to be your guest after all."

Ashley swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry at the sultry tone Liara had shifted her into using without warning. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that had to mean that Liara had noticed someone paying attention to them too closely and was putting on a show, but still. It was quite a shift.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that Liara wasn't exactly the same awkward kid she'd met on Therum, that she'd had quite a bit of her innocence ripped from her since then. This? Wasn't one of those times.

It wasn't the first time she'd had regrets about saying "yes" when Liara had shown up to her door and somehow managed to not only strongarm her into agreeing to go to the fancy party that she'd planned on skipping but to bring along a plus one. Previously, though, her regrets had stemmed from the fact that she didn't think there was a snowball's chance in Hell that anyone would believe that she and Liara were dating.

Now... well, at the moment, her regrets were of a very different sort.

"Why don't we go get those drinks then?" Ashley asked, trying to keep her voice as casual as possible. She didn't think she quite succeeded judging by the flicker of amusement she saw flash across Liara's face.

Liara leaned in and pressed a quick kiss against Ashley's cheek. "Of course," she said as she pulled away, "whatever you'd like."

Ashley swallowed. Hard.

Liara smirked, ever so slightly.

Well, if that's how she wanted it to go, two could play at that game. "Don't make promises you can't keep," Ashley said, trying to keep her tone as light and aloof as Liara's as she met her gaze. "You might be surprised at just what kind of things I like."

Liara's face flushed ever so slightly, her cheeks darkening, but she didn't look away. "I think there's very little that would surprise me."

The corners of Ashley's mouth twitched. "We'll see."

*

"If anyone finds us in here, we're going to be screwed," Ashley hissed, glancing away from the closed-for-now door to the room for a moment and looking back over her shoulder.

"No one is going to find us in here," Liara said, her eyes darting away from the computer she was currently in the process of downloading everything off of. "I locked the door behind us when we came in. As long as we're quiet, nobody will have any reason to even suspect someone's in here."

The look that Ashley shot her was skeptical at best.

Liara's mouth turned upwards into a small smile. "What were you expecting?" she asked. "I told you that the reason I wanted to come was because I was trying to locate some files."

"I wasn't expecting us to break into the private office of one of the richest people in the galaxy," Ashley hissed back.

She probably should have expected that, now that she was looking back on everything, but the point stood.

If anything Liara's smile grew a little wider. "Trust me," she said. "Everything will be fine."

"That's exactly what Shepard told me three weeks ago," Ashley replied dryly. "Right before the thresher maw tried to eat us."

Liara snorted. "That sounds like Shepard," she said, "but I promise that there aren't any thresher maws here on the Citadel."

"I'd rather face a thresher maw than the Council," Ashley muttered.

"You don't have to face the Council," she said, turning her attention back towards her omni-tool as it let out a quiet beep. "Oh, good. I have everything that I need. We can leave now."

Ashley reached up to rub the bridge of her nose as Liara hurried away from the computer and made her way towards the door, her omni-tool still out as she presumably ran whatever program she'd used to unlock and then lock the door in the first place.

"You do realize that someone's probably noticed that we disappeared from the party, right?" she asked.

Liara shot her an amused smile. "Most likely," she agreed. "Luckily, the next floor up is where the guest bedrooms are located, and no one will be remotely surprised at a few guests slipping away for a quiet moment."

Ashley opened her mouth. Then she closed it. She suspected she'd be better off if she simply stayed quiet.

The door unlocked with a quiet click. Liara pushed it open, gesturing for Ashley to head out, before she followed her a moment later. She brought her omni-tool back up, running the locking program again, and a moment or two later the lock on the door flashed red.

The two of them stood there in silence for a moment before Liara reached out and grabbed Ashley's hand, squeezing it tightly. "I can't believe that went so smoothly," she said, and for just a second Ashley could hear the old Liara coming out again before the mask was back firmly in place.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Miracles happen," she said. "Now come on. Let's get out of here before someone notices something's wrong."

She started walking back towards the end of the hallway, her fingers still intertwined with Liara's as she all but pulled her along.

"Slow down," Liara said, her voice light. "Nobody knows anything's amiss, and—"

Just ahead of them, there was the distinct sound of the elevator coming to a stop and getting ready to open.

Liara's eyes went wide.

Looking back, Ashley wasn't entirely certain just what thoughts ran through her mind or if she reacted on pure instinct. All she knew is that one moment she and Liara were standing there frozen, about to be discovered walking out of a hallway that had nothing but locked, private offices in it. The next, she'd somehow managed to grab Liara, shove her back against the nearest wall, and was in the process of kissing her thoroughly by the time the elevator door opened a second or two later.

There was a long moment of silence before someone let out a whistle.

Ashley pulled away immediately at the sound, not even having to fake just how flustered she was. The quick glimpse she got of Liara before she looked away revealed a similar expression on her face.

There was a human man standing there, wearing a guard's uniform and smirking at the two of them. "Hello ladies," he said. "Having some fun?"

"Something like that," Ashley said, her voice coming out just a tiny bit strangled despite her best intentions. "Sorry if we're a bit out of bounds. This was the first private place we found, so—"

She trailed off awkwardly, intentionally not meeting the guard's eyes.

The man laughed. "Believe me, you're not the first ones to have similar ideas," he said. "Take the elevator up another floor, and you can find somewhere a bit more comfortable than a wall."

"Thank you for the advice," Liara said. "If you don't mind, could the two of us—" She nodded her head towards the elevator.

Still shaking his head in amusement, the guard stepped aside and waved his arms dramatically at the elevator.

Ashley quickly stepped forward with Liara right behind her. She reached out to touch the controls, hesitating just a moment before pressing the Up button. The guard would be suspicious otherwise.

The elevator door opened a moment later, and the two of them hurried inside. Liara reached out and pressed the control for the next floor up.

"Do the cleaning staff a favor and wait until you're out of the elevator to pick back up!" the guard called behind them as the door closed.

Both of them stood there in silence for a moment.

"Well," Ashley said slowly, "we didn't technically get caught?"

Liara let out a bout of giggles that sounded as if they might be more than a little bit hysterical. "I can't believe that worked."

Ashley glanced down. Somehow, despite everything, she and Liara had yet to let go of each other's hands.

"And to think you said nobody would believe that we were dating," Liara said quietly, squeezing Ashley's hand slightly. There was something in her voice that Ashley couldn't quite read, but she had some suspicions.

For a moment there, she was fairly certain Liara had been kissing her back.

Ashley tore her gaze from their still-joined hands, meeting Liara's gaze instead. "We're probably going to need to put on a bit more of a show," she said slowly. "To make sure no one gets suspicious."

Liara's eyes were a bit brighter than usual as she nodded and leaned in ever so slightly. "I suppose you're right."

"No time like the present," Ashley agreed, leaning in as well.

Once everything was said and done, they'd actually need to have a talk. They'd have to figure out what had been real and what had been a show and what had been a complicated, messy combination of the two.

But for the time being, their fingers were still intertwined.


End file.
